Lawyer fined $5K over AI-hallucinated witnesses in a murder case
A justice asked, ‘Counsel, do you watch the news?’ when a lawyer admitted to relying on ChatGPT without understanding the risks.
A justice asked, ‘Counsel, do you watch the news?’ when a lawyer admitted to relying on ChatGPT without understanding the risks.
by
Emma Roth
Sep 11, 2026, 8:44 PM UTC
Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images
Emma Roth
is a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO.
New Mexico’s Supreme Court is punishing a lawyer for including AI-fabricated witnesses and fake police testimony in an appeal for his client’s murder conviction, according toa report fromReuters. Ina filing on Wednesday, the court fined Stephen Aarons $5,000 and held him in contempt for failing to “verify the factual claims and legal authority in his AI-generated brief.”
The filing says the brief “contained false testimony from wholly fabricated witnesses,” along with “false testimony” about the shooter’s clothing and appearance. Justice C. Shannon Bacon questioned how Aarons wasn’t aware of the risks posed by AI during an August hearing, where he admitted to using ChatGPT and thinking it would generate a “bulletproof summary” of the trial. “Counsel, do you watch the news? Do you listen to the radio? Do you read anything about what’s going on in the world?” Justice Bacon said, according toReuters. “Because the problem with lawyers relying on AI hallucinations is an above-the-fold story every single day.”
Related
With thenumber of lawyers using AI toolsin their workincreasing, so are the instances in which a court discovers citations that are fabricated — or hallucinated — by AI. Last year, a judge slammedtwo law firms for submitting a briefwith “numerous false, inaccurate, and misleading legal citations and quotations,” whilelawyers for MyPillow’s Mike Lindellwere also fined for putting AI-generated misquotes and fake AI citations in a brief.
”I am remorseful but hopeful that the disciplinary board takes into account it was an honest mistake,” Aarons says in a statement toReuters.
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